kombucha- a tutorial

kombucha- when people ask me what it is i say "it's this fermented green tea drink that i LOVE!" and i hope they don't immediately google it on their smart phone because the images of the "scoby" are kind of frightening. 
scoby- noun- an anacronym for "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast".
it's this kind of rubbery layer of stuff that sits in the tea and helps it ferment. 
it's to kombucha what a starter is to sourdough- kind of.

the above picture shows several layers of scoby going on- the topmost layer being the newer "skin" forming at the top.
but i admit that i fell in love with kombucha even before knowing how it was made or seeing what a scoby looked like- thank GOD. 
believe me- it's SO yummy and it's good for you too!  it's probiotic.  it's energizing.  it is good for the metabolism.  in short it cures wot ails ye.

so - to make kombucha you first must secure a scoby from a hippie friend.  you know, that friend that if she doesn't smell of patchouli she smells of something because she probably doesn't wear anti-perspirant.  her kids *probably* wear shoes- at least they are optional.  and she excuses herself to pee her 10 month old son off in the woods during a conversation.

once you have a scoby- you must feed it.  what does yeast eat?  sugar. 
so the imporant ingredient in this is sugar.  i use green tea because it is super tasty.  i use a tad bit of black tea because the scoby likes it. 

so to feed the scoby you must make a sweet tea.  i make approx 3 litres of sweet tea for one scoby. 
here are my measurements-
3 litres boiling water
3 bags kombucha tea(i use yogi brand)
2 bags of black tea (ceylon)
1 cup sugar- ***important***  you MUST use the devil's handmaiden.  you CANNOT use honey or agave or stevia or xylitol or anything more holy. 

ok- so then you let this sweet tea reach room temp.  pour it into your gallon sized fermenting vat(costco sized pickle jar or not- it MUST be glass).  place your scoby in the sweet tea and pour the brine the scoby sat in (should come in about 6 oz of brine) into the fermenting vat.  cover with some fabric.  i cut a t-shirt up.  cut a square to cover the top nice a good and then cut a long strip of t-shirt to secure the square down over the top.  this is important because fruit flies LOVE this stuff. 
now wait.  in the summer it ferments fast(one week).  in the cooler winter it's slower(two weeks).  you will see a nice layer growing on top- another scoby to share with a friend who now thinks YOU are the hippie fringe. 

taste it.  when it reaches a nice balance between sweet and vinegary then it's ready.

you can bottle it and throw it in fridge to stop the fermentation process, or....
you can do a second ferment(yummmmm!)
my kids love second ferments because i flavor it. 

i pour the kombucha over jelly (made only with SUGAR! not high fructose corn syrup). 
sometimes i pour it over some fruit puree that i have mixed with sugar and heated up(to dissolve the sugar). 
mango is my kids favorite!  and adding shredded ginger makes it so carbonated you have to watch out when you uncork!
i have also tried adding chia seeds.  it works.  i pour chia seeds into a cupcake liner- fill it up! and then pour them into the bottle.  it's amazing watching them form their little gelatinous shells.  it's got an interesting texture, but my kids don't go for it.
i do the second ferment in ikea stopper bottles.

 or these bottles of french soda i found at kroger in the health food section.

the second ferment takes only 2 or 3 days.  i sit them on the shelf in the pantry.  right now i have two grape(from jelly), two mango, and two peach sitting on the second ferment shelf.  i also currently have about four first ferments in various stages of stew going on.  i'm thinking about expanding my kitchen just to accomodate my kombucha fascination.